The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that the prior art forms part of the common general knowledge.
A loan, typically in the form of a sum of money, is property lent from a creditor to a debtor, where the sum is to be paid back from the debtor to the creditor over a period of time. Therefore a loan is generally a temporary transfer of property from a creditor to a debtor. A loan can involve a debtor providing some form of security in order for a loan to be obtained, such as a mortgage on a house, however, it is also common that no security need be provided for other forms of loans, such as a credit card. A loan is generally paid back to the creditor in full and typically is paid back with interest. The interest paid is calculated using methods such as fixed, variable, simple and/or compound interest rates and may be paid daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, in advance etc. A loan, from the debtor's perspective, is commonly referred to in the art as a credit, in terms of a balance sheet.
In contrast, an investment is typically property that is acquired by an investor for obtaining future financial return or benefit over a period of time. For example, money invested in shares in a company is considered a form of investment. By investing in property, typically in the form of money, the investor is able to obtain a financial return or benefit in many possible forms such as profits, interest, or dividends. For example, an investment may be in the form of a savings account with a financial institution, where the funds invested in the account obtain a financial return in the form of interest. An investment, from an investor's perspective, is commonly referred to in the art as a debit, in terms of a balance sheet.
Since a loan is considered a credit transaction and an investment is considered a debit transaction from the debtor's and investor's perspective respectively, these financial mechanisms are quite separate products as they exist on opposite sides of a balance sheet, Thus, financial institutions currently offer separate financial products for loans and investments.
Generally, an entity, such as a customer, may obtain a loan from a first financial institution and invest funds in a second financial institution due to the isolation of these products. It is also possible that a single financial institution may offer separate loan and investment products. However, these products are operated as separate financial transactions due to their opposing nature.